Needle strips for combing and like machines

ABSTRACT

A needle strip for a combing or similar machine is formed of a row of needles the shanks of which abut each other. The cross sectional outline of the shanks is such that the points of the needles are located at the desired spacings. The needles are held in position by layers of a bonding material such as solder on both sides of the row. This bonding material fills the depressions left between adjacent needle shanks due to the configuration of the shanks but does not penetrate between the shanks themselves and forms continuous layers.

United States Patent Egerer [4 1 Aug. 22, 1972 NEEDLE STRIPS FOR COMBING AND Refelfllces Cited LIKE MACHINES UNITED STATES PATENTS [72] Invent: gf fig Schwabach Bayem 2,992,672 7/1961 Lindner..'. ..19/129 x 2,409,565 10/1946 Holdsworth ..19/ 129 R [73] Asstgnee: Staedtler & Uhl, Schwabach, Germany FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [22] Filed; A 27, 1970 I 4,921 1876 Great Britain ..l9/l27 pp No: 67,421 1,432,809 2/1966 France ..19/129 R 30 A P D t Primary Examiner-Dorsey Newton 1 Foreign pp y a a Attorney-l-lane, Baxley & Spiecens Sept. 9, 1967 Germany ..P 16 85 607.8 N6v.22, 1967 Germany ..P 1685 608.9 [571 ABSTRACT May2,1968 Germany 17 60313-3 A needle strip for -a combing or similar machine is formed of a row of needles the shanks of-.which abut Rela ted Apphcapon Data each other. The cross sectional outline of the shanks is commuatlon-m-part of gsuch that the points of the needles are located at the" 1968, abandoneddesired spacings. The needles are held in position by layers of a bonding material such as solder on both [52] US. Cl. ..19/ 129 R sides of (he row, This bonding material fills the [51] Int. Cl. ..D0lg 5/14 de ressions left between adjacent needle shanks due to the configuration of the shanksbut does not Field of Search.....l9/l29 R, 234, 115, 127, 221

penetrate between the shanks themselves and forms continuous layers.

6 Claims, 15 Drawing Figures PATENTED M1222 m2 SHEET 2 0F 2 INVEMTOR jose F EGERER.

BY \AW, QM;

RrroRNE s NEEDLE STRIPS FOR COMBING AND LIKE MACHINES BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION The present application is a continuation-in-part application based upon my pending application Ser. No.

755,656 filed Aug. 27, 1968 now abandoned.

It is known to affix combing needles to combing needle or faller bars, needle holders or needle segments by placing the needles in a holder having grooves matching the needle diameter and spaced according to the desired needle point spacing, and adjusting the needles in the holder for length. The needles are locked in the holder by a clamping bar extending across the needles with the shanks of the needles protruding from the holder and the bar. The protruding shanks are placed on the needle bar and affixed thereto by a bonding agent, such as solder. The needle bar is now ready for insertion into the combing machine.

This manner of readying the needle bars has several drawbacks, the first and foremost of which is that the insertion of a large number of needlesinto the. grooves in the holder and the adjustment of the needles to the correct lengths are laborious and time-consuming. Moreover, as needles of different diameters are used differently sized needle holders must be available. Another drawback is that the needles in the holder must beheld in an approximately horizontal position for soldering them to the needle bar to ensure that the solder will flow into and fill the spaces between adjacent needles.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention eliminates the shortcomings of the known devices by forming a needle strip also known as faller bar or gill bar, for affixing needles, such as combing needles, to the needle holders or bars for use in shanks having a thickness corresponding to the desired needle point spacing into close contiguous juxtaposition and in then bonding them together with a bonding agent, such as solder.

Since the bonding agent does not have to fill gaps between adjacent needles as heretofore necessary, as such gaps are not present, there is a consequent saving of bonding agent, such as solder, it is also possible to utilize the layer of the bonding agent which extends continuously across the entire width of all the shanks of the needles for attaching the assembly of needles to the needle holders or bars.

When the needle strip is formed of needles having shanks with a circular cross section, the needles are chosen so that the shank diameters are equal to the desired needle point spacing. Alternatively, round section needles may be partly flattened to define the width required to provide the desired needle point spacing.

With flat needles it is advisable to use needles with shanks having flat sides, the width of the shanks between the flat sides corresponding to the needle point spacing.

The needles can be bonded together with any suitable bonding agent, preferably solder, but if desired, a plastics adhesive could also be used.

The needle strip as formed by the shanks of the needles may be covered with at least one reinforcing cover strip. Preferably, the shanks of the needles are confined combing machines and the like, by placing needles with between two cover strips. This form of construction protects the row of needles against damage during transport and facilitates their affixation to the needle holder or needle bar.

The two cover strips may consist of one piece forming the sides of a U-shaped carrier bar.

Since the cover strips may be externally smooth, two smooth surfaces can be bonded together when the strip of needles is affixed to the needle holder or needle bar, for instance by soldering or by means of a suitable adhesive, such as a synthetic plastics adhesive. This not only facilitates affixation of the strip of needles to the needle holder, but it also has the advantage that the contacting surfaces can be provided with accurately metered quantities of adhesive. The arrangement also assists in preventing the adhesive from penetrating between adjacent needles. Furthermore, lateral forces, such as thrusts acting upon the point of a needle cannot dislodge such needle from the bonded assembly because the reinforcing strips absorb the load and keep the needle in position.

According to another feature of the invention, at least one of the cover strips may be extended in the direction away from the points of the needles. If two cover strips are used it is preferable to extend both strips in such a manner that the two extensions in conjunction conform to the'shape of the needle holder or bar.

Such arrangement not only enlarges the adhesion surface-for bonding the strip of needles to the needle holder but it also pemiits attachment of the needle strip to the needle holder by mechanical means, for instance by rivets and bolts, in which case the extensions of the strips may be provided with holes for the rivets and bolts. Such mechanical afiixation has the additional advantage that an adhesive or solder is not required and that apparatus hitherto needed for connecting the strips of needles to the needle holders, such as soldering equipment, induction or high frequency heating equipment and so forth, can be dispensed with. The arrangement also operates to facilitate repairs, for instance, the replacement of a worn needle strip by a new one.

The above described needle strip must, of course, be attached to a needle holder, such as a needle bar in a combing machine. This involves a considerable amount of work and a corresponding expenditure of time and money, particularly since the strips must be replaced at regular relatively short intervals. A further development of the invention obviates this necessity by constructing the carrier strip in such a way that it also constitutes a needle holder or bar which is directly affixable to a combing rail in a combing machine. A suitable structure of this kind is obtained for instance by extending and shaping the cover strips, which sandwich the row of needles between them, so that the extensions themselves form the needle holder or needle bar. The cover strips may be extended to form two connected plates laterally offset from the median plane of the row of needles.

Alternatively, the same result can be achieved by providing one cover strip with an intermediate portion extending obliquely downwards and merging into a plate extending downwards parallel to the median plane of the row of needles while the other cover strip is formed with a downwardly arching extension merging into a plate connectable to the first mentioned plate. This form of construction of the carrier strip has the advantage that the row of needles need not be specially affixed to a needle holder or needle bar, and that the time-consuming mounting operation is eliminated. Moreover, the needle bars as were hitherto conventional are no longer necessary and need not be kept in stock.

Combers and spinners can be supplied directly by the comb manufacturers with needle holders fitted with the needles in a condition such that they can be directly mounted on the machine.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In the accompanying drawing several embodiments of the invention are shown by way of illustration and not by way of limitation.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary view of portions of a strip of round combing needles;

FIG. 2 is a section taken on line II-II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view of parts of a strip of combing needles with flattened shanks;

FIG. 5 is a section taken on line V-V of FIG. 4; FIG. 6 is a view in the direction of the arrow in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view of a strip of flat combing needles;

FIG. 8 is a section taken on line VIII-VIII of FIG. 7; FIG. 9 is a view in the direction of the arrow in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a fragmentary perspective view of a strip of combing needles provided with two reinforcing fillets;

FIGS. 11 to 13 are sectional elevations of different forms of strips of needles provided with reinforcing fillets;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view, partly in section, of a strip of needles combined with a needle holder; and

FIG. 15 is a cross section of another embodiment of a strip of needles combined with a needle holder.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a continuous needle strip 1 comprises a plurality of round section needles 2 which are placed closely together, that is to say without intervening gaps. In order to provide the needle point spacing a as required by the comber (not shown) with which the needle strip is to be used, the

needles have shanks 3 of a diameter selected in accordance with the required needle point spacing a.

The needles are bonded together by a suitable bonding agent, such as a solder, to form the continuous strip 1. As it is clearly shown in FIG. 2 the bonding agent does not and cannot penetrate between the shanks but merely into the depressions or spaces remaining between the shanks due to the geometrical configuration thereof and thus forms continuous layers 4 and 5 of bonding agent on both sides of the shanks.

The same structure is shown in the embodiment according to FIGS. 4 to 6, except that in these figures the needles 2 have shanks 3 which are flattened at 6 on each side, again to give the shanks a thickness corresponding to the required needle point spacing a. In

other words, the diameter b of the shanks of these needles was originally somewhat less than the needle point spacing a but the thickness of the shanks in the crosswise direction has been subsequently increased to the spacing a by squeezing pressure applied to the shanks for producing the flat sides.

In the embodiment according to FIGS. 7 to 9 the strip is composed of flat needles 7. The shanks 8 of these needles have flat contacting faces 9 and the distance between these faces corresponds to the needle point spacing a. The required thickness a in this instance can be obtained by flattening the originally round needles in two stages. In this instance the original needle may have been round with a diameter c (FIG. 9).

In both the above described embodiments of FIGS. 4 to 6 and 7 to 9 the bonding agent fonns a layer 4 on one side and a layer 5 on the opposite side. If these layers are sufficiently thick they may be used as the'means for securing the strip of needles to the needle holder or needle bar. g

In order to increase the strength of the strip 1, at least one reinforcing cover strip 10 may be provided, as illustrated in the embodiments according to FIGS. 10 to 13. Preferably, two cover strips 10 and 11 are used and bonded to the needles 2 in the region of their shanks. The bonding agent which is used for bonding the shanks of the needles 2 together may be also used for securing the cover strips to the needles.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 11 the height of the strips 10 and 11 roughly corresponds to the height of the full diameters of the shanks.

*AS is shown in FIG. 11, the two cover strips 10 and l 1 may be joined to form a U-section carrier 12.

Alternatively, and as illustrated in FIG. 12, each cover strip 10 and 11 may have a downward extension 13 and 14 respectively. In such an arrangement one of the strips such as strip 11 is set off to form a shoulder thereby giving it a cross section such that the strips constitute a holder such as a needle bar.

Even when such an extension is provided it is still possible, as shown in FIG. 13, to form the two strips 10 and 11 and their respective extensions 13 and 14 from one piece by appropriately bending a sheet metal strip to the required shape.

The strips 10 and 11 may be made of any suitable material. If heat treatment is required for bending them to form the needle holder they are preferably made of metal.

In the embodiment according to FIGS. 14 and 15 the two strips 10 and 11 are extended to form two plates 15 and 16 which may be sufficiently long and suitably shaped to replace a needle bar.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 14, the strip 10 and its plate 15 are made of one piece and coplanar. The other strip 11 and its plate 16 are likewise one piece but are separated by set-off part 17 so that the two juxtapositioned plates 15 and 16 are set-off from the median plane of the needle strip.

It is advisable to bond the two plates 15 and 16 together for instance by spot welds, rivets, bolts or the like.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 15, the needle strip 1 is also formed by the needle shanks and the cover strips 10 and 11. An oblique downward extension 18 of the strip 11 merges into the plate 16. The upper end of strip is joined to a downwardly extending curved portion 19 which merges into the plate 15. Again, the two plates 15 and 16 which form a needle holder, such as a needle bar, are laterally set-off from the median center plane of the strip of needles.

While the invention has been described in detail with respect to certain now preferred examples and embodiments of the invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art, after understanding the invention, that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and it is intended therefore, to cover all such changes and modifications in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A needle strip for a combing machine or similar textile machine, said needle strip comprising:

a plurality of needles each having a shank portion of uniform and generally round cross-sectional outline along its length and a needle point portion tapered toward its point, said needles being disposed in a single row with the facing surfaces of adjacent shank portions in abutment with each other along the length of said shank portions thereby locating the needles in mutually parallel relationship, the peripheral outline of each of said shank portions being correlated with the spatial location of the respective needle point so that upon placement of the shank portions in said abutting positions all the needle points are automatically located at predetermined distances; and

a hardened bonding material coating the outwardly facing surfaces of the shank portions and filling the depressions between adjacent shank portions as defined by the cross-sectional outline of the shank portions, said bonding material forming continuous layers on both sides of the row of needles and securing the needles in said mutually parallel relationship, said layers having substantially plane outer surfaces.

2. The needle strip according to claim 1 wherein a part of the outwardly facing sides of each shank portion is flattened. 4

3. The needle strip according to claim 1 wherein the facing abutting sides of the shank portions are partly flattened.

4. The needle strip according to claim 1 wherein at least one reinforcing strip is secured to one of the sides of the row of needles,

5. The needle strip according to claim 1 wherein a reinforcing strip is'secured to each side of the shank portions of the row of needles, said strips covering the shank portions of the needles and being. extended to form a holder bar.

6. The needle strip according to claim 5 wherein one of said reinforcing strips is outwardly set off relative to the other strip thereby defining a channel between the two strips, said shank portions of 'the needles being received in said channel and resting upon the base thereof. 

2. The needle strip according to claim 1 wherein a part of the outwardly facing sides of each shank portion is flattened.
 3. The needle strip according to claim 1 wherein the facing abutting sides of the shank portions are partly flattened.
 4. The needle strip according to claim 1 wherein at least one reinforcing strip is secured to one of the sides of the row of needles.
 5. The needle strip according to claim 1 wherein a reinforcing strip is secured to each side of the shank portions of the row of needles, said strips covering the shank portions of the needles and being extended to form a holder bar.
 6. The needle strip according to claim 5 wherein one of said reinforcing strips is outwardly set off relative to the other strip thereby defining a channel between the two strips, said shank portions of the needles being received in said channel and resting upon the base thereof. 